The present invention relates in general to domestic range appliances and more particularly to the manner of insulating the oven in such appliances.
It is well known in the range art to provide a layer of thermal insulation around the oven liner to contain thermal energy within the oven and to maintain acceptable surface temperatures for the external surfaces of the range and particularly for the cooktop area. A commonly used technique for insulating the oven liner involves wrapping a batt of fiberglass insulating material around the liner to provide a uniformly thick layer of insulation around the oven liner. For ease of assembly and to allow for manufacturing tolerances in insuring complete coverage of the oven liner, it is common for the length of the batt to be slightly greater than the circumference of the oven liner with the result that the opposing ends of the batt may overlap slightly, typically above the middle of the top wall of the oven liner.
Since the broiler element is disposed proximate the top wall of the oven liner and since the surface temperature for the cooktop surface must be maintained within relatively low limits, the area directly above the oven liner presents the greatest need for insulation. Consequently, the thickness of the batt of insulation is chosen to satisfy the insulation requirements for this area. Steel bands are typically employed to hold the batt in place and to insure sufficient clearance between the insulation and the side panels of the range body for adequate convection cooling air flow therebetween.
The use of a single batt of fiberglass insulation to provide a layer of uniform thickness over the top sides and bottom of the oven liner provides satisfactory insulating performance and lends itself to efficient assembly techniques. However, selecting the thickness of the batt to satisfy the insulation requirements for area above he oven liner results in using more insulation than is necessary, since the insulation requirements are not necessarily uniform around the entire periphery of the oven liner. In addition the use of steel bands to hold the insulation in place adds material cost and complexity to the assembly process.
It would be desirable therefore to provide an improved method and apparatus for insulating the oven liner in range appliances which preserves the advantages of using a single batt of insulating material, while overcoming the aforementioned shortcomings of the prior art.